


lost to time (and found again)

by skeletondreams



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, F/M, Gen, Kidnapping, POV Multiple, Tags May Change, Time Travel, cause i'm writing this as i go along y'know?, it's not going to be angst-heavy though, the OT characters are post-ESB, the setting and other characters are sometime during TCW
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:21:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28258356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skeletondreams/pseuds/skeletondreams
Summary: Padmé is kidnapped, but she doesn't know why, or who these other captives are.
Relationships: Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Padmé Amidala & Leia Organa, Padmé Amidala & Luke Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 79
Kudos: 247





	1. kidnapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!! this fic will be more character-focused than plot-focused, if that makes sense? so just know that, going forward. i haven't written a multichapter in a while, and i'm a little wary of writing them occasionally, so it may get a little rough, but i'm going to try my best with this :) no update schedule, but i assure you, it WILL be finished at some point. i have a personal rule that none of my WIPs on AO3 will stay that way, and so far i have 100% finished works, so i'm not breaking that streak. what i'm trying to say is, it might be funky, but it'll be finished. my tumblr is dreaming-skeleton, btw :) i think that's it for the beginning note, so yeah, hope you guys like this <3

Padmé walked into her apartment, frustrated and tired.

Her day hadn’t been _that_ bad- she’d had worse- but that didn’t mean it was, by any definition of the word, _pleasant_. She’d had several meetings, none of which were in her office, so she felt like she’d been running around the entire Senate Dome all day, and on top of that, there was all the paperwork she’d had to do, and none of this was helped by the fact that her husband was still at war-

In summation, yes, she was exhausted. She couldn’t wait to get into her sleeping clothes, maybe watch some senseless holodrama, and go to bed earlier than she usually would. Most of the time, she’d finish reading over legislation while she was winding down, or whatever else still needed to be read, but she would _not_ be doing that tonight.

Before she’d even closed the door behind her- _speaking of that_ , she thought, as she turned around and did so- she started taking her hair out of its style, glad she’d chosen something simpler than usual that morning. She made her way to her closet, and chose some of the comfiest sleeping clothes she had. When Anakin was there, she usually went fancier and wore nightgowns (he told her she looked beautiful in them, so she had secretly decided to mostly wear nightgowns around him), but for tonight, she chose to wear a soft t-shirt and a pair of sleep pants.

Once changed, she sat on her bed, grabbed the remote for the holo, and prepared herself to fall asleep watching a happy, feel-good holodrama.

_CRASH._

Immediately on alert, she shot off her bed and went to her nightstand, fumbling with the drawer a bit before she pulled out her blaster. She flicked off the safety- there was no way it could be even Anakin, he knew better than to _break a window_ to sneak in- and held it out in front of her, walking quickly and quietly to the wall by the door.

She waited there, tense. She hadn’t heard anything else yet (possibly because of her heartbeat, beating fast and loud), but she _knew_ the intruder was still in her apartment.

Then, she heard the breathing.

 _Kish-kosh, kish-kosh,_ accompanied by heavy footsteps, heading the opposite direction from her bedroom.

She put together the information she had, in her mind, as she kept alert. The intruder wasn’t heading towards her bedroom, so it may be that they were there for valuables, not her, specifically. The respirator indicated they could be non-human, and may need it to be able to breathe oxygen, but they could also just be wearing it to hide their identity better. The heaviness of the footsteps made it likely they were large, possibly strong as well. The combination of that, with the respirator, meant they probably weren’t quick, and if they weren’t there for her, they wouldn’t be looking for her, or anticipating her.

So, she’d have to be quiet, and _fast_ , but a blast to the head would probably take them down.

As quietly as she could, she walked out of her bedroom, looking around the corner before she did. Apart from the glass on the floor, there was no sign of anyone, which worried her. They hadn’t even grabbed the jewelry she’d worn that day, still glittering on the table- obviously valuable, and right there for the taking. So, if they _weren’t_ there for valuables, where were they?

_Kish-kosh._

She turned around quickly, and almost screamed.

The figure was wearing all-black armor, and a mask over their face, and she would have been able to process more details about them, if she hadn’t immediately started firing her blaster and running away from the intruder, hoping that her security team would be at the door by the time she was able to escape-

They pulled the blaster from her hand, before she was able to target anything fatal, and- in the back of her mind- she noted that they must be Force sensitive. In the same motion, they put their hand in front of her face, and said one word, in a deep voice.

“Sleep.”

She tried to fight it off as hard as she could- _it’s a mind trick,_ she thought, _don’t fall for it_ \- but ultimately, it was too strong, and she felt herself go unconscious.

Unknown to her, once she started to fall, the figure caught her in his arms, holding her. He stared at her, and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

“I can keep you safe, this time,” he said, as he started to walk away, with her in his arms. “I will swear it on my life, Padmé.”

By the time her security team made it to her apartment, the intruder- and the Senator- were gone.

* * *

Padmé woke up slowly.

She didn’t recall falling asleep, which was a bit concerning. It _had_ been a long day, though, so that could be why, but it was still unsettling to not know for sure. Especially since it felt like she was on a couch, not her bed, and the last thing she remembered was-

_The window breaking. Breathing. Footsteps._

_Intruder._

Her eyes opened, and she sat up very quickly. She half-expected to feel nauseous, but then she remembered she hadn’t been drugged, she’d been mind-tricked, so it was different than the other times she’d been kidnapped.

She was surprised to be on a couch, though, and- after a quick check- seemingly unrestrained, not even handcuffs. Usually, she’d be in some sort of cell. She took a look around, and noted that there was a camera in the corner, though she was fairly sure it didn’t record audio, only visuals.

Other than the camera, however, it just looked like a normal, but not very lived-in, house. The couch was by a caf table, with a stack of books on it- looking closer, they were books about politics, which unsettled her. She’d _read_ one of those books, just a few months before. Though, she noted that one or two of the books were about mechanics, which just made her think of her husband-

_Wait._

“Anakin?!?” she yelled, hoping he wouldn’t answer, as she stood up. She hadn’t seen him for a couple months, but it was no secret that they were friends- the secret was that they were _closer_ than that, but they didn’t hide being friendly with each other- so it could be possible that he was the other target.

She ran from the room, and into the hallway, but before she could start checking other rooms, she heard footsteps approaching- more than one, possibly two. Her hand almost went for her blaster, before she remembered she was unarmed, so instead, she formed her hands into fists and braced herself.

Two people ran into the hallway. Neither of them were her husband, or the intruder from last night, but one of them, the boy- they were a human boy and girl, younger than her, but likely adults- looked somewhat like Anakin. Blond hair, blue eyes, though Anakin was taller than him. The girl, her hair and eyes were both brown, like Padmé’s, and she was shorter than both of them.

Seeing her posture, the two of them raised their hands, to show her that they were unarmed, as well. She noted that the boy was actually missing a hand, his right one. “Don’t freak out, we’re prisoners here, too,” he said, and the girl shot him a glare.

“Don’t give her more information than she needs,” the girl whispered.

“Leia,” he said, and the girl- Leia, she supposed- rolled her eyes. “Look at her, there’s no way she wasn’t kidnapped, she’s still wearing _sleeping clothes_ , for kriff’s sake. And if Vader was going to send an interrogator or something, he would’ve done so already, right?”

“I suppose,” Leia said, though she still looked mad about it.

In the quiet of the moment that followed, Padmé untensed. Whoever these two people were, they were likely not threats. Allies, she wasn’t sure, but not threats. She was about to speak up, to say _what_ , she didn’t know, but then Leia’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her closer. After a second, Leia gasped.

“Luke,” she said, seemingly forgetting her own advice. “Do you know who she is?”

The boy, Luke, looked at Leia, confused. “No?”

“Senator Padmé Amidala,” Leia said, “one of the founders of the Rebellion?”

_Huh?_

“I never started any sort of Rebellion,” Padmé said, speaking up. They both turned their attention fully back to her. “Unless you count the defense of my planet during the Invasion of Naboo as rebellion, which it was _not_.”

They stared at her blankly, for a moment, before comprehension filled Luke’s face. When he saw that Leia was still confused, he turned to her.

“Remember what Vader said, about how far we’ve travelled?” he said. There was _something_ he wasn’t saying with that, but she couldn’t guess what, exactly, it was.

Leia looked at him, still confused, but after a second, it looked like she understood as well. “ _Oh_ ,” she said. “Yeah, that.”

They both turned back to her.

“Hello, Padmé- or, Senator Amidala?” he asked, holding out his left hand. Out of habit, though she was still _wildly_ confused, Padmé reached to take it. “My name’s Luke, and this is my friend, Leia. We seem to all be captive here, so would you like to come with us to the kitchen, so we can explain what we think is going on?”

“Hello,” Padmé said, shaking his hand. “If you have any sort of explanation, I’ll take it. Lead the way,” she said.

She followed the two others out of the hallway, and hoped she was making the right choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all will be revealed in due time :) i made sure that padmé referred to vader using a singular they for when she was describing all that, cause the star wars universe is very diverse in terms of species and all that, and just cause vader's a big dude doesn't mean he's not, like, a female wookie, y'know? and there's gotta be people that use they/them pronouns in the star wars universe, they're in THIS universe, too. so she doesn't assume, especially since she doesn't assume he's human either lol. also, while i plan for there to be some anidala, i'm not really planning for vaderdala? so there's that. stay tuned for the next chapter <3


	2. warnings and worries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the wait, the holidays were SUPER busy, so i didn't get much writing time. but here it is! hope you guys like it :)

Anakin was standing by the viewport, on the bridge, when it happened.

He liked to stand there, and look at the view, sometimes. Especially after a day like today, when he and his men (and Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, of course) had just succeeded in their hard-earned defense of a Republic planet. They were in hyperspace now, on the way back to Coruscant, and he stood behind the viewport, his hands behind his back and his mind wandering.

There was a little itch, at the back of his mind. It wasn’t a physical itch, he knew this, but that didn’t mean it was any less distracting. He was starting to consider meditation, to try to figure out what the Force was trying to tell him- meditating didn’t often work, for him, so he didn’t do it as often as he probably should have- when the itch began to change, becoming more like a headache, as if the Force had gone from just poking him, to _hitting_ him.

_Listen_ , it was almost saying.

Oh, he had a _bad_ feeling about this-

“Skyguy?” Ahsoka asked, from behind him. He didn’t flinch, but she had snuck up on him quietly, so her presence had surprised him more than he’d _ever_ admit to her. “Did you feel that, too?”

He didn’t have to ask to know what she was talking about.

“Yeah,” he said, deadly serious. He still had no idea what was going on, but something in his mind was telling him that whatever was happening, it wasn’t anything to joke about. Not even with Ahsoka.

They didn’t say any more words, for a moment. Just stood there, behind the viewport, and looked at the bright lines from the passing stars, planets, systems. It felt like something _big_ was happening, but for now, all they could do was wait. Anakin _hated_ waiting, but there was a voice in his head (which sounded suspiciously like Obi-Wan) that said he needed to be a good example for his Padawan. So, he had to trust that, whatever was happening, he’d know about it soon enough.

If it was big enough for the Force to warn him like this, he’d know.

Before long, he could sense Obi-Wan’s presence, coming to the bridge. Looking closer, he could sense that his Master- _former_ Master, he was still getting used to saying that, even though it had been over a year- was more stressed than usual, which Anakin knew could _not_ be good.

Obi-Wan entered the bridge, holding a datapad, and with only a glance to his face, Anakin could tell that his perception of him earlier was completely true. He looked worried, _especially_ when he looked at Anakin.

Well, what the _kriff_ was happening now?

“We have a mission, once we make it back to Coruscant,” Obi-Wan said. “A Senator has been kidnapped. The Coruscant Guard has already looked over the apartment, but they would like us to see if we can find any more clues to who kidnapped her, or where she may have gone.”

_A Senator was kidnapped, who was female, and Obi-Wan was giving him strange glances_ … 

Anakin stiffened, and for a second, it felt like he couldn’t _breathe_.

“Which Senator was taken?” he asked, in an eerily calm voice. He could barely even recognize it as his own.

Obi-Wan paused before he answered, and Anakin knew it was confirmation enough. “It was Senator Amidala,” Obi-Wan said, gently.

Any other time, Anakin would be suspicious as to why Obi-Wan knew to be gentle with this news. Now, however? He was _terrified_ for his wife.

He stayed silent, at Obi-Wan’s news, and turned back towards the viewport again, his hands behind his back. He couldn’t see them, but Obi-Wan and Ahsoka exchanged worried glances- not only worry for Padmé, but for Anakin, as well.

The _moment_ he was back on Coruscant, he would go to Padmé’s apartment. He would find her, and he wasn’t leaving open any possibility for failure. He would _not_ fail her, not the way he’d failed his mother. And when he found the one who took her-

His mind flashed back to Tatooine, and what happened- what he _did_ \- to the Tusken Raiders there. He knew he would be able to do something similar, to save Padmé’s life.

He would do anything to have her back, safe in his arms.

That would never change.

* * *

_Padmé was alive again_.

Vader was still reveling in that truth, about the fact that it _was_ true. This wasn’t a dream, like too many that he’d had since her death. His angel was alive, and just a few hours ago, he had been holding her in his arms again. He had, since then, left her at the safe house, so that he could go back out and make the world safer for her and their children.

Their _children_ \- another truth he could hardly believe.

He’d only known about Luke, before the three of them had been transported to the past. At some point, during this transportation, in this world between worlds- he’d been told the truth, possibly by the Force itself.

_Twins_.

He was a father, a father of _two_ , and both were so much like their mother, that he could hardly believe that there was a time that he couldn’t see that. The past was behind him, that was still true- but now it was in front of him, as well.

Everything he had done, so far, was to ensure his family’s safety. He’d procured one of the safe houses that he knew existed during the Clone Wars, and secured his children there. He’d regrettably had to leave Luke without a prosthetic, and no access to the Force, but he couldn’t have them escape. Not here, where they weren’t even _born_ yet, and had no idea what the state of the galaxy was like.

Vader, however, knew this galaxy well, and was using that information to his advantage.

His children were safe, and now Padmé was, as well.

Now, he could get rid of any obstacles in the path to the Empire- an Empire that he wanted ruled by his angel, his Padmé. The Separatists would have to go, as well as Palpatine, who he was saving for last. He wanted Palpatine to watch his plans _burn_ , before he killed him.

At the present, he was in a ship he had procured, on his way to an Outer Rim planet. He knew that General Grievous was there, and he didn’t much care for Grievous, so he wanted his death to be swift. After that, he’d go after other important Separatists. Perhaps next could be Poggle the Lesser? He’d never like Geonosians, especially since the beginning of the Clone Wars.

He looked out of the viewport, his hands behind his back, as he pondered this.

It would all be over again, soon, and the galaxy would be a better place. Padmé would be safe, along with his children, and she could rule their Empire.

He would do anything to ensure that future.

And that was just what he planned to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i put off reading Queen's Peril so i could finish this chapter today lol. also, why was vader's POV so much easier for me to write than anakin's POV was?? i'll likely get back to padmé and the twins next chapter, i just wanted to show what our favorite disaster was doing as all this is going on. hope you enjoyed this chapter!!


	3. revelations - part one

Luke was still confused, as to why Senator Amidala was here.

Leia had told him that she had helped start the Rebellion (which he thought was strange- if she had, why had he never heard of her, or seen her?), but other than that, he had _no idea_ why Vader would take her captive. Even with that reasoning, he’d assume that Vader would want to kill those that started the Rebellion, not _capture_ them.

He knew that’s what Leia was afraid of, _especially_ for her father.

Speaking of Leia’s father- she had told Luke, very recently, that she was actually adopted, which was something he hadn’t known before. They had been learning a lot about each other, these past few weeks, since they weren’t able to leave the “safe” house- and believe them, they’d _tried_ to leave it. So, they read the books that were there (no holodramas, since Vader had removed the non-essential electronics from the house, to further prevent them from escaping), and they talked, and that was it, until now.

Vader _still_ hadn’t explained anything- both when he brought Senator Amidala to the house, and just in general. All he’d explained was that they were in the past, and he was going to fix things, but he never clarified _what_. He hadn’t told Leia that he was Luke’s father, or why he wasn’t killing either of them, or why he kidnapped specifically Senator Amidala, or _how_ they were even in the past-

So yes, there was a lot to be confused about.

The only answer he had, to any of those questions, was a _possible_ reason as to why Vader wasn’t killing him, specifically. He’d had to tell Leia, two weeks ago, that Vader was his father. It hadn’t gone as badly as Luke assumed it could- basically, she still trusted him, and considered him one of her best friends, so that was actually _a lot_ better than what he thought could happen. It still didn’t explain why Vader hadn’t killed Leia, or why she was caught up in all this as well, and Leia _hated_ not knowing things, so she’d been on-edge and stressed lately.

There was no way to find out, though, since Vader refused to tell them (even after Leia had yelled at him, for what felt like hours, one of the _very_ few times he was at the house). Luke couldn’t even ask the Force what was going on, so everything was just complicated, and confusing, and he just wanted to be back on the _Falcon_ again. Preferably with Han there, since they were still planning to rescue him from Jabba, once they were able to get back home.

_Force_ , Luke wasn’t having a good time.

He took a deep breath. Now really wasn’t a good time to freak out (honestly, he was surprised that the Senator wasn’t freaking out, either), and he still needed to explain to her their understanding of what was happening.

“So,” he started, as they all stood in the kitchen. It was a little awkward, but it worked, and that’s what they needed right now. “First things first, what do you remember?”

After a pause, presumably to gather her thoughts, she answered. “I was in my apartment, after a long day at the Senate,” she said. “I was just about to go to bed when my window broke, and that intruder came in. I assume, when you said Vader earlier, that was him?” she asked, and continued on when both of them nodded. “Vader mind-tricked me into falling asleep, and then, presumably, took me here.”

“Do you have any theories for why he targeted you?” Leia asked.

“No,” Senator Amidala answered. “There have been some more… controversial votes, recently, but for each of them, I can think of others that would likely be targeted before me. There isn’t much strategic value to kidnapping me, not right now, so he really surprised me.”

He looked over to Leia, to see if she could confirm what she was saying- her father had been a Senator, and herself as well, so she might know. Leia, immediately knowing what he was going for, did the Rebellion’s hand signal for “unsure”, where Senator Amidala would be unable to see her doing it. Then, she did the sign for “time”.

Okay, so Leia wasn’t sure if the Senator was telling the truth, but only because they weren’t sure of the timeline. That was good enough for him. He- clumsily, because he wasn’t used to doing the signals with his left hand, but he didn’t have his right anymore- did the sign for “truth”, also where the Senator couldn’t see it.

Leia signed back “yes”, then “no Vader”, then “wait”.

It was settled then. They’d tell Senator Amidala the truth, except for the part about Vader being his father. That part, they’d wait until they knew they could trust her fully.

His entire conversation with Leia had taken less than a minute, but the Senator was looking at them with her eyes narrowed. “You said you were being held captive here, as well,” she said, the suspicion obvious in her voice.

“We are,” Luke was quick to answer. “And we’ll tell you what we know, now. Though, do you want to eat anything first, Senator?” he asked, remembering Aunt Beru’s lessons on manners at the last second.

Her suspicion didn’t go away, but she did nod at his question. As he grabbed a ration bar out of one of the cabinets (they were fully stocked, thankfully, though only with non-perishables), she paced a little, near one of the kitchen walls.

“You can call me Padmé, by the way,” she said, when he handed her the ration bar.

He smiled. “Thank you, Padmé,” he said. “My name’s Luke. Luke Skywalker.”

Padmé froze.

* * *

That couldn’t be possible.

Anakin didn't have any other blood relatives, not anymore, Padmé knew this. It might have been a coincidence- after all, Anakin had told her that Skywalker wasn’t a _completely_ unique last name- but with _her_ being targeted, as well as a Skywalker?

There were coincidences, and then there was deliberate planning, and this was sounding a lot more like the latter.

She looked at Leia again, who was now looking at her suspiciously- _kriff, the reaction to that was too strong_ , Padmé thought- and decided to try to see _just_ how coincidental this would get.

“What’s your name?” she asked, trying to sound polite instead of prying.

“Leia Organa.”

_Kriff_.

Padmé looked down at the ration bar in her hands, stalling so she could try to put together her thoughts. Here she was, kidnapped with a Skywalker and an Organa, with no objective that she could think of. She hadn’t heard _anything_ about an Organa being kidnapped, and she’d talked to Bail just that morning- or, was it yesterday, by now? Her and Bail had talked about their families before, as well, and she couldn’t remember him mentioning anyone named Leia.

That wasn’t even taking into account Luke _Skywalker…_

It was possible Anakin had relatives he didn’t know about. He’d only known about his mom, after all, and it was likely that if Shmi had had other relatives, it might have been too painful for her to talk about. So, it might be possible, but for this Vader person to know about another Skywalker, when Anakin himself didn’t… 

Something wasn’t adding up.

“How did Vader capture the two of you?” she asked.

Luke glanced at Leia, who nodded. “This is where it gets really complicated,” he said to her, holding his hand out placatingly. “We are- and I’m being completely honest here, and I can assure you I’m not crazy- from the future.”

Padmé had never really wished to have the Force, before. But now, when Luke was saying impossible things? She wished she had a way to verify what he was saying, because there was _no way_ it was true, but he looked like he wasn’t lying.

She looked to Leia, who nodded, looking deadly serious.

“Let’s say I believe you,” Padmé started, hesitantly. She wasn’t sure if she did, not really, but she needed to know this. “If you’re from the future, why did I, as you said earlier, help found some sort of Rebellion?”

“There’s an Empire,” Leia immediately answered. “The Empire has existed for as long as Luke and I have been alive. It’s despicable, and you, along with my father and Mon Mothma, helped bring together the political facet of the Rebellion.”

Padmé was almost speechless. That prediction of the future- her mind _refused_ to see it as anything more than a prediction, much less fact- was _disturbing_ , so much so that she grabbed onto one of the only things she could’ve out of it, that wasn’t about an Empire, which was-

“Your father?” she asked, her voice quieter than she would’ve liked.

Leia paused. “Bail Organa,” she said.

_Oh_.

She knew how much Bail and Breha wanted to have a child, and while whatever she was saying about this Empire was horrifying, she was glad the Organas were able to find some happiness, out of all that despair.

In the back of her mind, she wasn’t even fully conscious of it yet, she was putting _something_ together, about Luke. Whatever it was, it prompted her to ask him a certain question. “And you,” she said, turning to him. “Do you… know anything about Anakin Skywalker?”

She had no idea what she expected, but his face went through a complicated series of emotions, before he answered her.

“He was my father,” Luke Skywalker- Anakin’s son, _her_ son- said.

Padmé dropped her ration bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shoutout to trying to finish this fic before the semester starts next year (that’ll be around mid-january), i haven’t written fic this fast in months!! hoped you guys liked it btw :)


	4. child, children

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brb, projecting onto padmé here with my intense looking-forward-to-being-a-mother-someday feelings (which i think would be canon, from my interpretation of padmé’s character). hope you guys enjoy this chapter!!

The ration bar landed on the floor with a soft _thunk_ , and Padmé heard it, somewhere in the back of her mind, but she hardly acknowledged it.

The boy in front of her- Luke, his name was _Luke_ , and she hadn’t known how much she’d loved the name until she’d known who this boy was to her- looked at her, confused. Likely because she was just staring at him, wide-eyed, and saying nothing. She could hardly think of anything to say, as she looked at _her son_ for the first time, able to actually _see_ her features in his face- though, he obviously took after Anakin more.

Blond hair, blue eyes… but his face had a certain softness to it, that she had, and his height, while not short, wasn’t tall either- average, like her.

_This was her son_.

There was a tiny part, in the back of her mind, that acknowledged that it was possible that Anakin was his father, but she might not be his mother- but she disregarded that almost immediately. Even without being able to pick out her features on Luke, she remembered the conversation she’d had with Anakin, about children. He’d said he wanted to be a father, wanted to have children with her, _only_ her, whether biological or adopted. Their plan had been _not yet_ , but eventually, they’d start a family.

Obviously, at some point, they did do that. The proof was right in front of her, in the form of her grown-up son, from the future. Which was still… odd to think about, but now she _definitely_ believed him about that.

“Why are you looking at him like that?” Leia asked with a bit of an edge, seemingly impatient with Padmé’s wordless staring. She didn’t glance at the girl, couldn’t look away from her son just yet, but it broke her train of thought.

Padmé still didn’t say anything, but she took the few steps that were between her and Luke and, for the first time, hugged her son.

“Oh,” Luke said, surprised. He didn’t exactly reciprocate the hug, but she hadn’t really expected him to, somewhere in the back of her mind. There was _something_ there, about how he didn’t seem to recognize her, but she refused to acknowledge that thought, not yet.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, and wasn’t surprised to find her voice cracking slightly, and tears in her eyes. She’d always wanted children, and had looked forward to the day she would become a mother, so this- seeing the little boy that she’d dreamed of (though not so little anymore), in front of her now? It was an, understandably, emotional experience. 

“Uh… nice to meet you, too?” he responded, maneuvering himself out of the hug. He looked at her, obviously _very_ confused, and even a little suspicious, but not unkindly. “Do I, uh, know you somehow?”

Padmé’s smile, that she’d had on her face when she’d started hugging him, now faltered.

She’d _hoped_ that his confusion was because of the complicated situation, and her appearance here being so sudden, any of those things. But, it was starting to look more and more like he didn’t recognize her _at all_ , to the point where she couldn’t deny it anymore.

The Empire had been around his and Leia’s entire lives, that’s what Leia had said, earlier. She hoped it was some sort of situation where she just wasn’t able to see him often, working in this Rebellion that she’d helped found- but he still didn’t recognize her.

There was only so much denial she could be in, before her mind put the pieces together, and it looked like she’d run out of time. And if that was the case… she’d better learn as much as she could about her son, _now_ , since she was looking at the very real possibility that she wouldn’t get any of it later.

“Anakin Skywalker is my husband,” she said, and it felt _amazing_ to finally say out loud.

She watched Luke’s face, as he processed this information. At first, the confusion grew, then comprehension, then something complicated that Padmé couldn’t quite explain- then, it landed on something happy.

_Kriff_ , she loved her son’s smile already.

“Are you my mother?” he asked, the words rushing out of him. She saw the hopeful look in his eyes, the part that wished this was true as much as she did, and she was delighted to be able to answer it.

“I believe so,” she said, smiling wide. Now, _he_ initiated a hug, and she hugged him back just as tightly as he was hugging her.

It didn’t last very long, and when they pulled back from it, she could see how many questions he had- his confusion hadn’t _fully_ gone away, of course, the only thing she had actually explained there was her intense reaction to his name. She was ready to answer anything he asked.

_Shiraya’s word_ , this was her son. She wished Anakin was there.

Before they could start to speak, Leia- _kriff_ , she’d forgotten that there was another person in the room- coughed quietly. They turned to her, and Padmé was a little sorry to see such an awkward look on her face, likely from witnessing what had just happened. “I think I’ll let you two have some privacy,” she said, and at Luke’s thankful nod, she left the room.

Padmé turned back to Luke, ready to finally talk to him.

* * *

Leia closed the door behind her, once she arrived at her room, and started to actually think about what the _kriff_ had just happened.

_Goddess_ , Senator Amidala was Luke’s mother. She remembered her father telling her, about Senator Amidala, and how she’d died just as the Empire was born- and, once Leia had known about the Rebellion, that she’d helped start it, before everything had gone to poodoo. Leia had read up on her profile, during the legislative program she was in. _Officially_ , she had been killed by Jedi, and she would have supported the Empire if she’d been alive, but Leia knew that was all Imperial propaganda.

Though, now knowing who her husband had been… 

She gave that thought a moment, then disregarded it. Only by seeing Padmé’s face, as she’d described the Empire to her (without even going into much detail, just telling her of its _existence_ at all), she was able to confirm that the notion of Senator Amidala supporting it was false. Now, she just had to wonder how a woman like her could've married _Vader_.

Leia sighed. She needed to think this all through, take stock of what she already knows, and hope that Luke had noticed her signal for “wait” when she had left the room. Senator Amidala had already had a lot of information dumped on her head already, in just the past ten minutes, so adding on the fact that Anakin Skywalker was Darth Vader wouldn’t go over well. Leia herself didn’t have _any_ connection to Anakin Skywalker, other than his son being her friend, and she hadn’t taken it well- she shuddered to think of how his _wife_ would react.

She took stock of what she knew about Senator Amidala, and about Luke’s mother (at some point, she’d be able to merge the two, but not yet). It wasn’t hard, since she knew about one from her studies and from her father, and the other from late nights and deep conversations, talking with her friends on the _Falcon_.

Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo, previously Queen Amidala, was one of her father’s close friends in the Senate. She supported many of the same legislations that Bail Organa had, and for that, Leia knew she had to be a good person. She’d died pregnant (though that was apparently a half-truth) a few days after the first Empire Day, on her and Luke’s birthday. Which, just as an aside, she’d been _very_ surprised to learn that she shared a birthday with one of her best friends- though that part was definitely a coincidence. The Empire said she was a martyr, but they lied about the views she was martyred for. She helped start the seeds of the Rebellion, with Mon Mothma and Leia’s own father. Leia couldn’t recall anything about Senator Amidala having a partner, however, much less being _married_.

Now, for Luke’s mother… 

Luke had told her that he didn’t really know _anything_ about his mother, which he had reiterated when he told her the truth about his father. His aunt and uncle had assumed that she must have died in childbirth, or soon after, since Luke had been only around a day old when he’d been brought to them. They also thought she might’ve been the woman Anakin had brought with him, when he’d visited, right before Luke’s grandmother had died. Though, they’d admitted that wasn’t very likely, and even if she was the same person, they couldn’t remember anything of importance about her.

That was basically it. Luke didn’t really know anything about his mother, and Leia knew quite a bit about Senator Amidala, mostly politically but a little personally- and they were the same person.

Goddess, this was weird.

Leia had felt like she’d had to leave to give them privacy, but she didn’t really want to be without Luke, not now. He was the only person she could _fully_ trust here, even after what she’d been told about him- almost _especially_ after that, because he’d actually _told_ her. She didn’t blame him for not telling her immediately, though, given that he had to have time to process and deal with this information.

She had stopped asking him to kill Vader. She knew what that would do to him, mentally, and couldn’t bear to hurt him like that, even for taking out a monster like Vader. She thought she might’ve been able to do it, if she was in his situation, but she knew it wasn’t the same for him.

Leia sighed, and sat down on her bed.

Oh, what she would give to talk to _her_ mother, even for just a few minutes… 

She was having a hard time dealing with all of this, and was trying to keep up her determination and hope, but it was _so_ difficult- how did Breha Organa do this, all while being the queen to an entire planet? Leia just wanted to talk to her parents, so much, and they were _alive_ , but she _wasn’t able to leave and see them-_

She sniffled, to keep herself from tearing up. Luke would _know_ if she started crying, even without the Force, and she didn’t want to interrupt his time with his mother. She may be jealous (which she was reluctant to admit, but she _did_ admit it), but he was her _friend-_ she wouldn’t take any of this away from him.

So, she picked up a book, and tried her best to not think about what was happening, a few rooms away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we’ll get back to the padmé and luke conversation next chapter, btw, just wanted to have a little leia interlude :) i hope you guys liked this chapter!! <3


	5. love and power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this chapter took so long!!! i got MAJOR writer’s block while i was working on it, so that took forever to resolve. there’s no way i’m finishing this before my semester starts, but eh, still working on it :) hope you guys enjoy!!

Luke listened, as Padmé told him about what her job in the Senate was like, and tried to keep himself from smiling too wide.

_Force_ , he was talking to his mother. He still could hardly believe it, and they’d been talking for at least half an hour, by now. It was something he thought he’d never be able to do, at least not in life- but now, right now, he _could_.

It was _amazing_ , and not something he was taking for granted.

He thought of Leia, and how much she would want to talk to _her_ parents- and how very, very unlikely it was, that Vader would kidnap them as well. Force, he wanted to talk to Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, _so much_ , and he probably wouldn’t get a chance for that, either. Knowing this, there was no way he’d waste this opportunity.

There was also the fact that he didn’t know how long this would last. Leia, Vader, and himself weren’t in the past permanently, that was something he _knew_. They would go back to their time, and whatever had permitted this time travel, it wouldn’t happen again. He didn’t think Vader had accepted that, though, judging by what Luke thought he might be doing, around the galaxy. He knew it, Leia knew it- but Vader was seemingly ignoring it, for reasons Luke knew all too well.

They were in a place where his _mother_ was alive, and he didn’t want to leave either, but he knew it would happen eventually. Destiny, the Force, whatever was out there, it wouldn’t let them stay, no matter how much they wanted to.

_It is as the Force wills_ , he thought Yoda might say.

Realizing he’d zoned out slightly, he brought his focus back to the conversation at hand- and just in time, it seemed.

“I talked to Senator Organa recently, about that piece of legislation…” Padmé said, before pausing for a moment. “Your friend, Leia. Is she the Senator for Alderaan, or is the position still filled by Bail, or by someone else?”

Luke nodded. “Yeah, she was the Senator for Alderaan, after her father. The Senate was disbanded around the same time she joined the Rebellion full time, though, so she’s not the Senator for it, anymore.”

He purposefully didn’t mention the fact that Alderaan didn’t even physically _exist_ anymore. He’d seen Leia’s signal before she’d left the room, and she was right- Padmé would already have a lot of information to process, today. She didn’t need to know that Anakin was Vader- or that Alderaan was destroyed. Not right now. _Eventually_ , of course, but it could wait at least another day.

There was also the fact that he didn’t want to sour this conversation- he’d _never_ talked to his mother before, he just wanted at least one truly _good_ conversation, with her.

So, it could wait, he’d decided.

“The Senate was disbanded?” Padmé asked, her brow furrowing. “How could that- oh, right. Empire.”

“Yeah,” Luke confirmed. “The Empire’s gotten rid of a lot of things, over the years. Leia would know more about this than me, though.”

Padmé nodded, then paused for a moment, thinking about something. “Leia,” she started, before pausing again. “Is Leia just your friend, or…” she finally asked.

Luke laughed softly, before answering. “She’s just my friend. There was a time we _thought_ about making it more, but honestly, we don’t see each other like that. I’ve already missed any chance I might have had, anyway. She told me she’s in love with Han, and I’m pretty sure the _entire_ Rebellion knows Han loves her, so they’ll probably get together, once we rescue him.”

“Okay,” she responded, smiling. “It’s nice that you have such a good friend, then. Who’s Han, by the way? You haven’t mentioned him before.”

Luke smiled. “He’s one of my best friends. He was captured recently, and Leia, Chewie, Lando, and I were still planning our rescue when… whatever this is, happened.”

And _that_ , that was a regret, one that he’d had the entire time he was here. That they hadn’t pulled it off, before the time travel had happened. Luke knew they would be back to their time at some point, and would be able to rescue him then- but until then, both him and Leia couldn’t help but worry, and they weren’t even able to do anything about it. Before, they were at least able to plan, but now? They could do _nothing_.

It was so _difficult_ , Luke knew, to do nothing- it was part of why they had to rescue Han in the first place. When he had the visions of his friends in pain, back when Yoda was training him, he couldn’t just do nothing. And now, because they’d had to turn around and rescue him from the bottom of Cloud City, instead of chasing Boba Fett, Han was still captured.

_Force_ , Bespin had been a disaster, in so many ways.

He found himself staring at his hand- well, _lack_ of a hand, since he’d woken up here with his prosthetic missing- when he stopped zoning out. Padmé, seeming to notice this, looked at his missing hand, as well.

“Sorry, if this is _totally_ out of line,” she said after a moment, “and you don’t need to answer this if you don’t want to. But, was that around when you lost your hand?” she asked, and when Luke looked up to see her face, he saw… not _understanding_ , since she hadn’t gone through the same thing he had, but that this wasn’t completely unfamiliar territory, for her.

For the first time, Luke wondered if his father had already had a prosthetic, before he became Vader. He already knew all of Vader’s limbs were prosthetics, the intelligence department of the Rebellion could tell that much, but now, Luke wondered _when_ that had happened.

“Yeah,” he answered. “That’s when it happened. I… your question was fine, at least for me, but I don’t really want to talk about it, right now.”

“Okay, that’s perfectly fine, I’ll change the subject now,” Padmé responded quickly. “So, you’ve already told me you were raised by your aunt and uncle on Tatooine. What was that like? I’ve only met them once, but they seemed very nice, while I was there.”

Accepting the subject change gratefully, Luke smiled slightly. “Oh, so that was you? Visiting with my father, right before my grandmother died? I didn’t know that for sure.”

“Yes, it was me,” she confirmed.

“Great, that’s nice to know. Well, to answer your question, while I was still living on Tatooine, I was always looking to the stars,” Luke started.

As he told his mother about his childhood, he thought of what an amazing opportunity this was, to be able to talk to her. He was thinking about that _a lot_ , during this conversation, but honestly? He just wanted to make sure he was enjoying the moment.

He couldn’t take _any_ of this for granted.

* * *

Talking to Luke was, Padmé had to say, a great experience.

It was later in the day, now, and the three of them were sitting in the small living room, eating dinner. Leia had come out of the room she’d been staying in, after a while, and Padmé was grateful for that- Leia was, as Luke had told her, quite a great person. So, she was gladly socializing with both of them, excited to talk to not only her (future) son, but also the (future) daughter of a dear friend.

Most of her focus was on Luke, but Leia- Leia _understood_ politics, and since most of Padmé’s life was about politics, she found that often becoming the focus of the conversation. They talked about other things as well, of course, but it was still a frequent topic. As it was now, since Leia knew quite a bit about this Empire, and Padmé- she wanted to know _everything_ about it.

She _needed_ to keep it from becoming a reality, in her timeline.

And the best course to do that, was knowledge on how it happened. Leia’s knowledge about the Empire was extensive, and Luke knew quite a bit as well- he would’ve had to, since he was working with the Rebellion- so, while they ate dinner, they talked about the Empire.

“Even before the Senate was disbanded, it had been practically toothless for at least a decade prior,” Leia said, her anger clear in her voice. Padmé felt like Leia’s passion for democracy was almost a mirror to her own, and was thrilled to see that such a person had been in the Senate, even in the dark times she spoke of. “There were votes, but if the result didn’t match up with the Emperor’s wishes, he’d just do it or not do it anyway. It’s _infuriating_.”

“I bet it is,” Padmé agreed. “I feel like we’re _barely_ doing anything now, and we’re still in a democracy. It would be even worse with an Emperor.”

She paused, realizing something. Throughout this entire conversation, she had never asked-

“Who is the Emperor?” she asked, not missing the _look_ that Luke and Leia shared, at her question. “I feel like I should know that, so I can try to keep him from coming into power.”

There was silence for a moment, and she could see Luke and Leia have a wordless conversation. Eventually, Leia nodded, and Luke turned away, and towards her. There was a wariness on his face that Padmé did _not_ like, especially in this context. Finally, he spoke, and with only a few words, _shattered_ what Padmé thought she knew.

“The Emperor’s name is Sheev Palpatine.”

She took a moment to process this, but spoke before she had truly put it together. “That’s- that’s impossible,” she said, confused. “He’s power-hungry, yes, but… he’s the _Emperor_?” she asked, looking at Leia, right in her eyes.

There was no trace of a joke, there, or anything other than a deadly seriousness. Looking at Luke, she saw the same. She looked back down.

It wasn’t a lie.

If what happened in their timeline, happened here- if she could do nothing to _change_ it- then democracy, _liberty_ , would die.

“I’m sorry,” Luke said, seeming to notice how upset she was. “I wish it wasn’t true either, but it’s been my reality for my entire life. Are you… are you two close, or something?”

Padmé laughed, even though nothing was funny. “He was my _mentor_ , for a long time. Especially when I was still Queen. And that barely compares to how close Ani is to him…”

If she had been looking, she would’ve noticed both Luke and Leia’s eyes going wide, and them looking at each other, understanding _exactly_ what that meant. But she hadn’t been looking, so she missed putting that together. For now.

Suddenly, she felt like she couldn’t be in the room anymore. Hearing about the Empire had been terrible, yes, but once they told her that _Palpatine_ was the Emperor- that he had seized all power, and turned the galaxy on its side- it all became heartbreakingly _real_ to her.

All together, with everything else she had learned today, it was too much. She got up from her chair, her plate left abandoned (they had been in the middle of _dinner_ , and the mundanity of that sharply contrasted how she felt, currently).

“I… I’ll be in another room,” she said, leaving so she could be alone to _think_ , for a moment.

She left, and if she had looked behind her, she would have noticed another shared look, between Luke and Leia. This time, a knowing look, that Leia had been completely right (though Luke had already agreed with her, earlier). If _this_ knowledge was hard on Pamdé… there was no telling how she’d feel, if she knew what her husband had become.

“Soon,” Luke whispered. “But not yet.”

“Yes,” Leia agreed.

Without much else to do, they finished their dinner, and thought of how they would have to break the news to her.

And hoped to _Force_ that Vader wouldn’t come back before they’d told her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw, finally planned out the rest of the fic, so if it goes to plan, there will be three more chapters!! also, i really want to thank all of you for reading, kudosing, and/or commenting!! any of that is greatly appreciated, and it really helped when i had so much trouble writing this chapter. so, yeah. thank you!!! see you next chapter <3


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